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Saskatchewan’s election unfolded as predicted in early returns Monday, with Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party dominating in rural constituencies and Carla Beck’s NDP fighting for enough urban votes to eke out a path to victory.

Moe’s Saskatchewan Party was edging closer to securing the 31 seats needed for a majority in the 61-seat legislature, powered by victories in its traditional rural base.

Beck’s New Democrats were leading or elected in about two dozen seats in Regina and Saskatoon but needed to sweep the major cities.

The NDP also gained back the rural northern riding of Athabasca, which it won in 2020 only to lose to the Saskatchewan Party in a subsequent byelection.

Moe, in his second election as leader of the Saskatchewan Party, retained his seat in Rosthern-Shellbrook. No polls had reported yet in Beck’s riding of Regina Lakeview.

Several other cabinet ministers retained their seats: Agriculture Minister David Marit, Energy Minister Jim Reiter, Advanced Education Minister Colleen Young, Highways Minister Lori Carr, Health Minister Everett Hindley and Trade and Immigration Minister Jeremy Harrison.

Harrison was a controversial figure on the hustings. Earlier this year, he apologized for carrying a gun into the legislature about a decade ago while on the way to go hunting.

The Saskatchewan Party was seeking a fifth-straight majority to add to its 17 years in office, while Beck’s NDP was looking to take back government for the first time since 2007.

The voting caps a month-long campaign that focused on health care, affordability and crime.

Moe promised broad tax relief and continued withholding of federal carbon levy payments to Ottawa.

His platform would cost an additional $1.2 billion over four years. He said his tax reduction plan would save a family of four $3,400 over four years. It also includes tax credits for those looking to grow their families or put their children in sports and arts.

Moe promised deficits in the first two years, followed by a surplus in 2027.

Beck pledged to spend more to fix health care and education, pause the gas tax, and remove the provincial sales tax on children’s clothes and some grocery items.

She said her promises would cost an additional $3.5 billion over four years, with plans to cut what she calls Saskatchewan Party waste and to balance the budget by the end of her term.

Moe also promised that his first order of business if re-elected would be to ban “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls.”

He said he made the promise after learning of a complaint at a southeast Saskatchewan school about two biological boys using a girls change room.

It was later revealed that a parent of the two children who were the subjects of the complaint is an NDP candidate. Moe said he didn’t know that when he made the promise.

Beck has said such a ban would make vulnerable kids more vulnerable. She also promised to repeal a Saskatchewan Party law that requires parental consent if children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school.

Political experts said Moe was favoured to win the election, given his party’s strength in rural areas, but recent polls suggested a closer race.

At dissolution, the governing Saskatchewan Party had 42 seats, while the Opposition NDP had 14. There were four Independents and one seat was vacant.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.

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MONTREAL – A Montreal suburb with a park overpopulated with white-tailed deer says it has carried out the first phase of its cull, with 64 animals killed.

Longueuil, Que., has fought against activists for years to carry out the cull, and says it will thin the herd further before February.

Between Tuesday and Thursday hunters using air guns shot and killed 64 deer at Michel-Chartrand Park, a green space on Montreal’s South Shore.

Longueuil officials say the operation went smoothly and that other culls will take place until February, when a provincial permit expires.

The city has said it needs to restore ecological equilibrium to the park, where up to 114 deer had been living in a green space that can accommodate about 15.

Officials had been trying to kill the animals since 2020 but faced strong opposition and legal challenges from animal rights groups.

In October 2023, the province’s Court of Appeal sided with the city.

The meat will be donated to a local food bank for distribution by the end of the year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2024.

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BANFF, Alta. – A popular selfie spot for visitors to Banff National Park has become a victim of its own success.

The two-metre-high, $350,000 “Banff” sign was installed in 2017 on Mount Norquay Avenue, one of two entrances into the Alberta mountain park’s idyllic townsite.

But the narrow two-lane road, which runs from the Mount Norquay Ski Resort seven kilometres away, is fraught with traffic jams, even between the peak tourist seasons of winter and summer.

Town officials have decided it needs to be moved.

“We’ve debated this for over three years now,” said Darren Enns, Banff’s director of planning and environment. “We’ve finally reached the point that we made the decision to take the next step forward.”

Banff gets about four million visitors a year, and Mount Norquay Avenue sees 55 to 60 per cent of the traffic, said Enns.

In the summer, there are about 17,000 vehicles a day on the avenue, with lots of pedestrians crossing the road from a parking lot to the sign.

“We’re very fortunate to not have any public safety incidents. But certainly that’s always top of mind, and our council has directed us to look at a more pedestrian-oriented environment for the sign,” said Enns, adding a move could happen as early as next summer.

On a recent sunny day in October, a steady stream of visitors made their way from across the road to the sign, causing traffic to stop.

A lineup of about 30 people waited for a chance to take photos, many offering to snap shots for others.

Mike Jones and his wife were among those in line.

“It’s something we always do when we go to a touristy place. We always like to have a memory of wherever we’re visiting, whether it’s Banff or somewhere else. It’s kind of what we do and I know a lot of others think the same way,” said Jones, who is from Fort McMurray.

He was surprised to hear the sign will be moving but said it’s likely the right call.

“I’m sure they’ll pick a good spot and a safe spot,” he said. “If it’s causing an issue, they do have to move it.”

Alissa Kittelson, her husband and two daughters were visiting from Minneapolis.

“Banff was on my bucket list. It’s beautiful. I’ve seen photos and I wanted to come and check it out. I hope it makes the Christmas card,” Kittelson said.

She was glad to get the family photo before the landmark is moved.

“I feel like it’s the perfect spot. We’re right on the edge of town. You can see the beautiful mountains behind it. You can see the beautiful trees. I’d be sad to see it moved.”

Enns said there are a couple of places where the sign could find a new home, including a downtown park. But the most likely location is a kilometre away at the Banff train station, where there are about 450 parking stalls.

“It’s always great to see a project that is so successful that it has unintended consequences around it,” Enns said.

“I’m very grateful for all the interactions we’ve been able to provide our visitors and all the memories that we’ve been able to create.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2024.

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